A Little Less Heartbroken
by SwanthiefShipper27
Summary: A One-shot of the Storybrooke gang's time in The Enchanted Forest. Remember when Regina saved Roland? That never happened. What if Neal had saved Regina? What if she fell in love with him? Slight Swanfire. Slight Evilfire.


**This is a one shot of when Emma and Henry were in New York and the rest of Storybrooke was in The Enchanted Forest. Remember when Regina saved Roland and gave him a toy? That never happened. What if Neal had saved her? What if Regina had fallen in love with him? Enjoy!**

Neal slumped his shoulders in a sad motion as they were walking towards Regina's castle. He was thinking of Henry, his son. He was thinking about the way that he smiled, and Neal's heart always melted when he heard Henry laugh. Henry had Neal wrapped around his finger; and now he didn't even remember him. Neal wondered what Emma had told Henry about his father. Was it the same story she had told him before, about him dying? He hoped not. He hoped that Emma had told Henry that Neal wasn't a bad guy; he was just trying to give the girl that he was hopelessly in love with, a better chance. She needed to break the curse to reunite with her family. Neal remembered that Emma was talking about her parents one day. What had they been like? Were they nice, or mean? Did they really want to give her away? It broke his heart to think someone wouldn't want an amazing girl like Emma Swan. He was still in love with her, which would never change. He just hoped that she felt the same way.

Regina was walking alone, thinking about her son. She always thought about her son, but not this way. Right now, she knew she couldn't just go into his room and kiss his forehead. She knew she couldn't make him feel better when he was sick. He was gone, and she would probably never see him again. Her heart ached for her son, she loved him so much, but he couldn't remember her. He was probably with Emma, laughing and enjoying the fake life that they had together. Regina had made sure that they were happy, unlike her and Henry a few years ago. She had called him crazy, and she regretted it. She had put him in therapy, and she shook her head at the thought. She was horrible to her baby boy, and wasn't even trying. She was a terrible person, even in her little boy's eyes. But just as the new curse was about to hit them, Henry told her something that she had never known. He had told her what her real identity was. She was a mother, not a villain. She loved that he could see the best in her, even when nobody else could. He had believed in her, that she could change. She had failed, but Henry didn't think so. He thought she was wonderful, and he loved her so dearly. Now he didn't even think about her, and that killed Regina inside.

Suddenly, a screech was made from the sky. "Incoming!" Neal yelled, trying to get the attention of the people who didn't hear the screech. What was that thing? It was a flying monkey! The person who was out to get them must have sent it to them, to kill them. Regina did not notice the flying monkey. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts about Henry and Emma, not even noticing people yelling for her to drop on the ground. Neal decided to take actions into his own hands, and tackled her to the ground, saving her life. Regina was on the bottom, and looked up to who had tackled her. It was Henry's father, Neal Cassidy. She hadn't talked much with Neal, since they had thought that he died. He helped save her son from Neverland, and she could tell that Neal genuinely cared for Henry, loving him.

Neal looked down at the woman who was underneath him. He got off of her, and gave his hand to her, helping her up. Regina thanked him, and smiled at the man. Regina had never noticed Neal's smile before. He had a cute, boyish smile, like Henry's. Her heart melted at the sight of it, and then it went away. Neal turned away from her, and went on his way. He went to talk to Robin Hood, who was one of his close friends. "Did you just save The Evil Queen?" Robin asked him. Neal flashed him a smile, and nodded. He would've done it for anyone that was in their group. It was unlike Neal to let people suffer, as he would help his father's prisoners quite often, letting them free to continue their lives.

Regina stared at Neal, who was still talking to Robin and his Merry Men. Regina thought that Robin was foolish and childish. Neal was a mature adult that Regina hoped to talk to more. He looked her way, checking to see if she was okay, and she flashed him a big smile. Regina usually never smiles; she's just not a happy person. But thinking of Neal made her heart flutter all of a sudden. Was she in love? She might just be! She hadn't felt that way about a man since Daniel. She could never replace Daniel, could she? He was her true love, her soul mate. But, there was no way of bringing Daniel back to life, he was gone. She frowned at the thought of the stable boy, but shook the thoughts out of her head, replacing the old thoughts with new ones of Neal.

Neal saw that Regina was staring at him. He thought that maybe he had hurt her when he tackled her to the ground. He hoped he didn't, she could rip his heart out in seconds! He walked over to her and walked beside her. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked, in a protective mode. He was just a protective guy, and was like that with strangers. His father was like that too, before he became The Dark One. Regina was smiling at him a lot, did he smell good? Neal smelled of dirt and manly soap, and he smelled quite good.

"No!" Regina answered quickly. He thought that he had hurt her? He didn't! He had just saved her life, that's all. "I'm sorry if I'm staring at you, but you did just save my life. Could I repay you in any way?" She asked, giving him a smile. He looked at her with a clueless expression on his face. Did he not know that she was flirting with him? He must be still thinking of Emma Swan. Regina hated her more than ever. What if Neal was the one? He may not think so; he thinks that Emma is the one! She might just have to change his mind.

Neal shook his head. He didn't want anything for doing a good deed. It was like if Iron Man saved a child's life and expected a reward from the child's parents. That's sleazy behavior, which was just not Neal. "No, that's okay Regina. I don't want anything from you." He replied, running his hand through his hair. His hair was starting to turn gray, and he really didn't like that. He excused himself from Regina, and walked over to David and Mary Margaret, Emma's parents. "Do you think we'll ever get back to Storybrooke?" He asked, sounding like a child who missed their parents. Which was true, Neal did miss his father, who had just sacrificed himself. Maybe he wasn't dead; maybe there was a way to bring him back. He just had to find out how.

"Neal," Mary Margaret greeted. "You need to let go. We may never see Emma or Henry again, and we need to accept that." Mary Margaret was heartbroken by that fact, but she needed to let go. Henry and Emma were her family, and always will be. But, they cannot remember her, so what difference would it make? "I'm upset too, I really am. I may never see my daughter or my grandson again. We need to move on."

Neal frowned at her response, and walked away before he blew off in anger at the woman. He walked back over to Regina; maybe she would know how to get back. Henry was her son too, and she would do anything for him. Regina saw Neal and her heart nearly leaped out of her throat. "Neal," She greeted, smiling. "Do you ever think that you could get over Emma?" She asked, fluttering her eyes, in a flirtatious way. She needs happiness too, even though she was a villain.

Neal was shocked at Regina's question. Did she like him? Gross! He still loved Emma and would do anything to get back together with her. He stared at her in shock, and his mouth was slightly open. "I don't think I could ever get over someone as smart, beautiful, and creative as Emma Swan." He said, walking back over to The Merry Men, leaving Regina with a sad frown. What was she thinking?


End file.
